The high profile Miami Heat will host the Dallas Mavericks in Game One of the NBA Finals on Tuesday night. The Heat are led by their “big three” LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh are rested and ready for a run against Dallas. The best-of-seven series is being billed as “the rematch” of the 2006 finals.

LeBron James

In 2006, Dallas held a 2-0 lead and was up 15 points in the second half before the Heat got their act together. Dwayne Wade starred for Miami and it remains to be seen if the Mavericks can contain Wade and his two henchmen.

Since that bitter loss, Dallas has gone 10-0 against the Heat. The Maverick that has been there for all the action is center Dirk Nowitzki. The center presents some matchup problems for the offensive minded Heat. Throughout the playoffs, Nowitzki has been the NBA’s steadiest and most impressive player.

Other than Nowitzki and 38-year old point guard Jason Kidd the balance of Dallas players are no-names compared to the deep Miami bench. Dallas plays with focus and this is a much better defensive team than in 2006.

It is no secret that the Dallas game plan begins with Nowitzki. The team’s first offensive choice is always Dirk but the multi-dimensional Nowitzki and company have proved to be outstanding at moving the ball in search of an open shot.

At the beginning of the year, Miami struggled to find their game. Without question the Heat will run, run and then run more. This allows their “big three” to all touch the ball. There is a lot of talent on Miami but there is also a ton of ego. Balancing those egos is what has gotten the Heat this far.

Coach Carlisle is hoping that foul-prone Tyson Chandler can log some serious playing time. The Mavs have had great success rebounding against Miami. The team averages 47 rebounds per game compared to their average against the rest of the league, which is 41 rpg.

With the Heat, any one of the James, Wade, Bosh superstars can carry the scoring load. James, Wade and Bosh will provide a real test foe the Mavericks who will be looking to take some air out of the ball and slow down play.

This may be a best of seven series but Game One on Tuesday night may well foretell the outcome of the Championship series.